Burton's St Peter's Bridge is open!

St Peter's Bridge in Burton is open again - three weeks ahead of the original schedule.

The essential repairs of the bridge had originally been due to be completed at the end of November, but the project team have worked hard to bring the reopening forward.

Mark Deaville, the county council’s cabinet member with overall responsibility for the scheme, said: “From the outset we have been determined to ensure St Peter’s Bridge is open again as soon as possible. Thanks to some efficient management of the project and a spell of good weather we have managed to bring forward the opening by nearly three weeks.

“This repair work has been complex and it was vital that we carried it out as soon as we knew we had received the funding from the Government.
“We’d again like to thank people and businesses for their patience while this essential work was carried out. We will continue to spread the message that Burton is very much open for business.”

The repairs are part of a £6.1million project to refurbish both St Peter’s Bridge and Burton Bridge. Burton Bridge will now be repaired next summer after the county council held a consultation with people and businesses to ask when they wanted the work to be carried out.

The project has involved bearing replacement work on St Peter’s Bridge, meaning HGVs and buses can continue to access the town in the future. Waterproofing and resurfacing has also taken place. Without these vital improvements lorries and buses would not be able to use the bridge by 2019 and it would eventually have had to be closed.